Late into the Rio campaign have been two Australians with form - Dual Olympic Silver medallist and three times Olympian, Darren Bundock, who will be 45 years old come 2016, who has won an amazing 14 Worlds multihull championships going back to 1998, including seven Tornado World titles… alongside his crew, Nina Curtis, who was midboat in the 2012 Australian Women’s Match Racing Olympic Silver medal winning team.

The question is will experience count in this new class ahead of youth and strength.

Bundy thinks so... ‘the Nacra 17 is smaller than the previous Olympic multihull, the Tornado, and the loads are much lower so I can helm and that is where experience really counts. This is my fourth Olympic campaign and I know how to put it all together at the right moment, while a first Olympics for anyone is a huge learning curve, so we think we will be there when it counts.

The Nacra 17 debutantes Bundock with Curtis won their first up Nacra 17 regatta in Melbourne in December 2013 and then backed up in Miami with a sixth in a chartered boat, then followed that with a third in Palma and they have emerged from the five race qualifiers with a worst result fourth.

Overall Ben Saxton and Hannah Diamond (GBR) now lead the regatta with two bullets today and a drop of five.

Second is yesterday’s series leader Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA), who today sailed a 1.5 with a drop of 19 yesterday , while the Australian duo Bundock and Curtis with a 2,1 and a drop of 4 are just a two points off the lead.
This afternoon Bundy was as relaxed as ever.

‘In Palma we came through in the heavier conditions and the very light stuff. We struggled in medium conditions and that’s what we have been working on since we got here to Hyeres and I think we have ticked a few boxes and so far so good in the medium stuff like.

‘Yesterday we had a little short sharp chop, 12 knots in the first race, 17 knots in second.

‘We had good pace and the potential to nose dive was high but we came thru OK, it was nice to win the first race yesterday and the last race today.

'A very pleasing day for us on day two overall... The wind was out of the east today. Still quite choppy but it was a little bit flatter today.

'We probably started in about 15 knots of breeze and the breeze slowly dropped out through the day. We probably finished in just under 12 knots. Great placing for us to start off with a three and a two in the second race and won the last race.

‘We continually improved. We are happy with our speed but we are still a little bit sloppy in manoeuvres. The old guy down the back is still struggling a little bit in the gybes and the tacks but besides that very pleasing.’

Nina, ‘I said to Bundy going into the day it would be cool if we could still be dropping our fourth at the end of the day and we managed to pull that off which is pretty cool

‘We are looking forward to tomorrow as the fleet divides up into Gold and Silver fleets so looking forward to some Gold fleet racing.’

Bundy concluded, ‘We saw in Palma by the end of the regatta everyone was really desperate for their drop races so if you can start the first half of the regatta without using your drop race I think you will be in good shape at the end.

‘Ben Saxton and Hannah Diamond are going well and we are look forward to sailing against them every race now we are all in the Gold fleet and Billy and Marie are obviously sailing the boat really well at the moment.

‘You can see that they have put the time in and they won the World’s last year and I think since then it has given them more motivation and they have been training hard during the winter. Their crew work looks good and sailing the boat fast. Billy that have been around for years, he came onto the scene in 2001.’